Swinging Christmas

This week's challenge on MFP's Simple Salutations is to make a card with something that has wings. I looked at all my sets and despite loving the idea of LateBlossom's Use Your Stamps Challenge, I reached for my favourite set, Cardinals.  I will be so gutted when it retires.

This card was my first attempt at a swing card.  Let's just say I learned lots.  I had to do it twice because I centred the die-cut on the wrong fold.  Also I love to be able to write on my cards.  Next time I think I would choose to use patterned paper that allowed me to write over top of it.  That big space on the right is begging to be used for more writing but that may just be my own personal bias.  I know my family loves cards with "play" value to them, especially the guys.


Challenges this Card Meets:
Addicted to Stamps - Anything Goes
Crafty Hazelnut's Extra Christmas Challenge - Anything Christmas for October
Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge for October
Bunny Zoe's Crafts - Animals
Love to Scrap - Anything Goes
Papertake Weekly - Things with Wings
Party Time Tuesday - Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - O is for Owl
Shopping Our Stash - Something for my Sweetheart (a Valentine)
Through the Craftroom Door - Anything Goes

Graduation Cap Gift Holder

This week's challenge on MFP's Simple Salutations is "graduation".  I had no images for this so I lucked out and found this tutorial for a graduation gift card holder.  I thought it was inspired.  DH was very impressed.  

Here's what it looks like open.  I used MFP's "Above the Rest" for the sentiments.  I just love how it turned out.  I will be honest though, the tassel tutorial is not very good.  It took me a couple of attempts to complete it.  The tassel is in the colour of the local university's education department since I always need cards for my graduating student teacher each year.

Easter Surprise

This week's Sketch with a Twist is to make an Easter or Spring card.  Mine actually is both.  The second I saw this layout, I decided I wanted to make it a gate-fold card.  The chipboard butterfly is acting like a tab to hold down the pink card flap.  If you open it up, it says, "Happy Easter."  The giver then still has space to write their message on the inside of the card as usual.    The pretty DP is in fact part of an envelope liner I'm recycling.  The flower image is from MFP's Lots of Words set.

In Case of Emergency...

I am participating in a card swap with a theme of caffeinated drinks.  I was going to go with coffee but came across this paper in my stash.  From there I found this uninked stamp set from Stamposaurus that I quite like.  It makes me think of my DMIL, whom I'm sure you've guessed by now, is British.

This standard 4.25 x 5.5 inch card has two pockets on the front.  I've tucked in a packet of David's green tea for my swap sister to enjoy.  There is a second pocket that could be used for a gift card if the card was going to be used as a gift.

I always worry that my swap cards are not elaborate enough so hopefully everyone will enjoy it.  My next set will definitely be coffee related though.

Challenges this Card Meets:
All Sorts Challenge - Use those Dies
Alphabet Challenge - D for Diecuts
Craft for the Craic - Something that Includes Green
Crafty Catz - Anything Goes
Cut it Up - Anything Goes with a Diecut
Sister Act - Make a Card
Card Makin Mamas - Photo Inspiration - I was inspired by the chest of drawers for my colours.

Pocket Full of Christmas Wishes

Today's challenge on MFP's Sketch with a Twist is to make a pocket card.  Love them, they are perfect because gift cards can also be tucked inside.  Hence why I wanted to make a Christmas card.  I had fun playing with scraps.  The base is a card that I had scored incorrectly and was therefore too large on one side, which was cut to become my base and the smaller side became my tag.  I had so much fun with the non traditional paper that matched my base, the teal is the opposite side.  I lucked out and found a foam bauble that matched and added some pearls to make it more interesting.  The ribbon actually matches the base; it;s raspberry, not red.  The snowflakes from from MFP's Calendar set and the sentiment from their, 'Tis the Season set.  The tag with sentiment comes straight out.

Challenges this Card Meets:

Flowers... Just Because

I was inspired by a challenge a couple of weeks ago and didn't get this made in time but I'm glad that I kept going with the idea.  It's a pocket card using Melon Mambo as a base.  The paper was a gift so I don't know about it.  I used Very Vanilla for the card and stamped it with Gina K's Fanciful Tags (retired).  The flowers were being thrown away by a local shop that had used them in a display window.  Waste not, want not.

Challenges this Card Meets:

Glitter and Sparkle - Anything Goes

Loves Rubber Stamps - Anything Goes

V's Sweet Ideas - Anything Goes

Flapping Cardinals

I was thinking I was getting a bit simplistic and wanted to try something new.  This is a flap card.  You open the top to find the sentiment.

I then added a similar, smaller image to the inside.  I love lots of writing space but I thought the white was looking a bit stark.

I got the instructions for the flap card from Splitcoaststampers.  The image is from MFP's Christmas Cardinals and is one of the images I coloured over the Thanksgiving weekend.

How Merry, How Bright

I was surprised by how much I liked these non-traditional cards when they were completed.  I was determined to use up the purple DP which had snowflakes on it.  Not my usual thing but I'm trying to use up a Christmas 6x6 pack.   Luckily the paper matched the only 3 purple Copics I own.  It's hard to see but I did a graduation of colours on the sentiment.  One card uses gold accents the other silver.  Both are joy fold card which are hard to photograph.  

Challenges this Card Meets:

Fussy and Fancy - More than One Fold (Joy Fold)

Crafty Catz - Christmas in July

Crafty Hazelnut's Extra Christmas Challenge - Anything Goes for Christmas

Creative Corner - Christmas in July

Paper Playtime - Use Patterned Paper

Send A Smile for Kids - Christmas In July

Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes

Pocket full of Holiday Wishes

There was such great turnout last week on Simple Salutations on Speedy TV for the Anything Goes.  That was awesome.  This week we are adding an embellishment.  You can pick any embellishment you wish,  So I really do hope that you will join us.

I had fun this week making a 4.25 x 4.25 inch pocket card.  The inside card is then 4 x 4.  If you would like to try one, the tutorial can be found here on Splitcoaststampers.   I love these for Christmas because I can easily tuck a little gift card behind the tag and have a beautifully wrapped gift.  I then added patterned paper and mounted my Christmas Cardinal from Mark's Finest Paper on some scrap foam from when I unmounted all my rubber stamps.  It just gives some nice dimension.  The sentiment is from the same stamp set.  My embellishment is the brad I used to attach the tab for the card.  The tab was made by folding one of my Nesties in half and then attaching with a brad I rescued when the school was throwing about a dozen boxes of them out.  They were so old, no one knew what they were or how to use them.

Challenges this Card Meets:
Simple Salutations on Speedy TV - Anything Goes
Christmas Card Challenge # 19
Christmas Stamping All Year Long - List to Santa:  Stamps (Can I list that twice?), White cardstock (Okay, I'm boring!), Copics
Crafty Catz - Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp and Show - Fly
That Craft Place - Animals
The Crafty Bloggers' Network - Anything Goes
Tuesday Throwdown - Fancy Folds
Use it Tuesday - Something Sticky (Unmounted foam gets adhesive on everything!)
Victorine Stamps - Stripes and Dots

Christmas Oven Mitts

My dear supportive husband strikes again.  I was showing him my card, telling him how much I loved it and he joked that he can't understand why I like the oven mitts so much.  When I looked outraged, he even pointed out that the stamped pattern on them looked like the one on our oven mitts.  But hey, they were very cute and at least we'd always be able to find them hung on the tree like that.  What a guy.  Despite my husband, I love this card.  I always love red and white together and this is a wonderfully simple card.  The mitts are my Spellbinder's die.  I then stamped them with my basketweave background from Mark's Finest Papers and distressed the edges with TH's Fired Brick.  I'm pretty sure the pine boughs are from Marianne's Designs.  The sentiment is from Gina K's sadly retired Fanciful Tags set.  I got even with DH putting on the pointsetta. He'd gone to read and I pulled out my hammer and old grommet set and made sure I was very loud punching the whole for the brad.  I could do this since dear kiddies are at Grandma's.  I think he knew what I was doing because he winked at me.

Challenges this Card Meets:
Christmas Stamping All Year Long - Anything Goes
Crafty Hazelnut's Extra Monthly Christmas Challenge - Anything Goes
Tutorial Time on Speedy TV - Twisted Easel Card
Speedy TV's Simple Salutations - Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes

Spring Chicken

Yeah!  Boxing Day came and Mommy got to pull out her paper again for the first time in a month.  I've been knitting so as not to mess up my dining room before Christmas.  While it's great most of the time, sometimes I hate having a craft area that's in the main space.

I tried my hand at a diaperfold card.  I used the tutorial at SpeedyTV but there is another on Splitcoast.  Love how easy it is.  I adapted the size to 7 inches square which leaves me a base that is just perfectly fits a gift card.    What a great way to make a gift card actually look like a gift!  I was moaning all December that I really wanted a gift card envelope die.  I may still get one for myself...

Here's what it looks like without the tag.  I used double-sided DP from my Costco stash.  The image is a retired set from Stamping Up, a Flower for All Seasons, I think.

Here's the tag I made to go with.  The flower is to hide the fact that I accidentally cut the angle cuts unsymmetrical.

Challenges this Card Meets:
Tutorial Time on Speedy TV - Diaper Fold
Charisma Cards - Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes
Use It Tuesday - Thinking to 2013 (I always need gifts for the daycare.)

Pocket Full of Posies

This is my second diaper fold card that I made on Boxing Day.  It was made using a 7 inch square paper to make a  base that just fits a gift card.  It makes a great way to present a card.  It fits snug enough that the card will stay snug unless turned upside down.

The DP is another sheet from my Costco stash that will never get used up.  The flowers are from the clearance bin at Michaels.  I have absolutely loved them.  They are really too big for cards but I've loved every card I've make with them and I'll be so upset when I run out, which will be soon.  The leaves are die cuts with old olive sponged on the edges.  I stamped MFP's cracked background stamp on to give it a bit of texture.

The tag is a bit longer than a gift card to allow some writing.  The paper on this side looks like primary inter-lines.  It will be great for DS's school teacher.  The sentiment is also from MFP.  The butterfly is from Creative Memories and the ribbon was coloured with copics.

Challenges this Card Meets:

Tutorial Time on Speedy TV - Diaper Fold
Charisma Cards - Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes
Use It Tuesday - Thinking to 2013 (I always need gifts for the daycare.)

Joy to the World

Did you miss me?  After a break with report card writing and Christmas present making, I needed to play with paper.  This was a new one for me.   I tried a never ending card.  I followed a tutorial from Mark's Finest Papers.  Next time I'd use some patterned paper.  Stamping all the bits was a bit fussy.  I was tired by the end so I'm not as happy with the colouring as I would like to be.

The second panel is embossed in silver.

Please excuse my fingers.  This panel did not want to lie flat.

 I deliberately left this panel empty because I do like to be able to write in my cards.  I always find it funny when they are so decorated, it's hard to write in them.  I don't understand that...

All of the stamps are from Heartfelt Creations and I love how they all coordinate.

Challenges this Card Meets:
Tutorial Time on Speedy TV - Neverending Card
Simple Salutations on Speedy TV - Use a Church
Charisma Cards - Christmas
Simon Says - Snowflakes
Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes
Everybody Art - Christmas

Parson Brown, I Presume

I wanted to try something new and found this idea for a double Z card at Splitcoaststampers.  I used my "Snowmen Melt Your Heart" set from Heartfelt Creations and DP from Bo Bunny.  I'm going to be so sad when this paper is gone. The card band is glued to the front underneath the button and bow.  The ribbon then ties at the back.  It may be hard to see but the inside sentiment says, "Snowmen Melt Your Heart".

The snowman was mostly coloured with my Copics.  I didn't have any burgundy colours to match the snowflakes in the paper however so I needed to get creative.  I made a circle mask and stamped my snowman onto it and then cut out the scarf.  I then sponged the scarf with SU's Bravo Burgandy.  I then cut out the hat ribbon and did the same.  I love the textured effect it created.

This will definitely be a family card.  They love non-traditional, interactive cards.  It may not be a shaker or a spinner but it has visual interest and a puzzle to open.

Challenges this Card Meets:
Friends of SpeedyTV - Buttons and Bows
Mark's Finest Papers - Buttons
Christmas Card Challenge # 27
Crafty Hazelnut Christmas - Royal Purple (Mine is burgundy - close enough?)
Creative Card Crew - Song Inspired: Walking in a Winter Wonderland
My Time to Craft - Hats
Oldie but Goodie - Anything Goes (The image and sentiment are a year and half old.)
Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes

The Stockings Were Hung

I so love this card. I just know that some little person will get a big kick out of it! Best of all, since it is all DP with no stamping, it was real quick. About 20 minutes, including printing the template and digging through my stash for the paper and the bell.

This was a real stash card. The green holly DP is I think the first paper I ever bought from CM - back in around 1998. I have no idea where the bell came from. It was floating in my wrapping paper stash, it was so old, it pre-dated my card-making stash.

The template cam from the Waltzing Mouse site here. It is really for a gift card holder but I adapted it for a card. I saw the template last year and am so glad that I'm finally using it. This was again prompted by the Hope You Can Cling to Challenge. We are to make a shaped card. This is the second challenge I've had to make duplicate cards because I can't give it away without friends/family seeing.

Challenges This Card Meets:
Cards for Men - Anything Goes
Christmas Card Challenge
Delightful Challenges - Christmas
Dottie's World - Christmas
Fab 'N' Funky - Clean and Simple
Fussy and Fancy - Winter Wonderland
Meljen's Designs - Anything Goes
Tuesday Throwdown - Anything Goes
Pixie Cottage - Metal

Daffodil Dreams

Truly Scrumptious and the Creative Card Crew are having open Design Team calls. Candidates are asked to submit 2 of their favourite projects. Please click on the links if you want more details.

I had just finished these cards for my Grab Bag Swap and wanted to share them. They are the cards I have been most happy with recently. Kristina and Michelle always do such a wonderful job that I really make an effort to come up with something unique for them.

This first card is a criss-cross card. The base is made from Certainly Celery with patterned paper, images and ribbon that I received from my swap. Sorry, I don't know who makes them. There is a great tutorial for making these cards on Splitcoaststampers that I used that you can find here. The image was coloured with a mix of Copics and SU markers. I love the little dragonfly on the tab. I found him lonely, in the back of one of my craft drawers and he just called to me.

My second card is a gate fold card using the same paper and image. One thing I just love about this challenge is how to use the same materials to make very different projects. I distressed the edges of my image panel with Certainly Celery to make it stand out more. The butterfly is the new Creative Memories butterfly punch. The bling and the flower also came from my bag of goodies for the swap. I used the same Nestie and butterfly punches on the inside to keep continuity. The sentiment is from SU. If you know the set, please let me know.

Challenges the Criss Cross Card meets:

Creative Card Crew - To Die For

Creative Card Crew - Favourite Project DT Call

The Pink Elephant - 3 layers, 2 diecuts 1 ribbon on the criss cross card

Delightful Challenges - Summer colours

Stamp Something - One DP (used both sides), one image, one ribbon for the criss cross card